Common Humanity
Have you ever looked at another person and questioned their humanity? Probably not. That questions seems ridiculous. We know people are human. We don’t always understand them, but we know they are human.
So why don’t we treat everyone that way? Why is it easy for us to think our way of thinking and behaving is the right way for everyone? Or why do we treat people as below or above other people?
These are deep questions with deep answers that invite us to consider and talk more. Let’s use this space to start the conversation.
All of us - you, me, your neighbor, my neighbor - were born. Maybe the circumstances of our birth, the place we were born, the family we were born into, the time period we arrived are different. But in our common humanity we were all born. We all require food. Maybe the contents and timing of our diets differs. But in our common humanity we all require food. We all have systems of elimination. Maybe the timing, texture, and appearance of our waste differs. But in our common humanity we all eliminate waste via urine, stool, sweat, and other detox systems.
There are undoubtedly numerous other examples of our common humanity - some debatable, some undeniable - that we could explore. You get the idea. We have much in common, we humans.
So why do we forget this in the face of daily living? What would happen if we remembered?
From one “born/food-eating/eliminating” woman to another, here are some suggestions for us to grow in.
Listen - be curious, ask questions, hear with your ears and take in with you heart
Learn - remember what you are told, consider new perspectives, write it down if you must
Give each other the benefit of the doubt - seek to understand first, extend grace
Many years ago while talking with a fertility doctor, I learned this fact about genetics. If you were to take the DNA of two females and lay it out in a line, 98% of the genetic material would be exactly the same. Most of the DNA identifies the structure of the body - number of limbs, organs, etc. and how they will function together as a body system. If the gender and ethnicity of the person was the same, another 1% of the genetic material would be the same. That leaves only 1% that is different, causing the individual to be unique from other same gender/ethnicity people. I am not a scientist or biologist or fertility doctor, but it strikes me that we all have much more in common than we have differences.
What will we choose? To listen, learn, and give the benefit of the doubt for those differences? Or something else?
